For all the things that are expected to worry the Namuwongo Blazers fans, as their team begins its road to the Basketball Africa League (BAL) this week, failure to make it past this round that they host at the Hoima City stadium is not one. The five-team action, which runs from October 21 to 25 is one that they are encountering for the second successive year. Last year in Tanzania, they went past this stage without much sweat despite having a couple of injuries as they headed out for it. Therefore, with that experience, backed by the addition of top foreign players this time, it should be business as usual. However, their key focus is expected to be on how they create cohesion and tenacity for the round of 16, next, provided, as they are largely expected, they make it there. Beyond the addition of players expected to elevate the team’s strength, Namuwongo also added a foreign coach in Luis Lopez. While speaking to the media recently, he highlighted the fact that, as a team, he could not overlook the fact that they had not trained together long enough. Inevitably, that could prove counterproductive to what the club aims to achieve, since team chemistry is crucial for success. But maybe, considering that the greater part of this team comprises of players that have worked with coach Stephen Nyeko for the greater part of the last year, they will be expected to lead the charge during this round. All that Namuwongo needs is finishing in the top two positions in order to qualify for the next round. Once that is achieved, it will provide Lopez and Nyeko more time to work with the team for the sweet 16, which is the final round of qualification to the BAL. No doubt, the round of 16 is a tough stage. It is where Namuwongo failed last year. Therefore, a year later, they must know what to expect. Yet, they appear to have began preparations for that early enough this time. Last year, Namuwongo were troubled by the fact that between the qualifiers to BAL, they had the National Basketball League (NBL) playoff finals against City Oilers to contend with. From the admission of some of the players, they were not able to focus well on BAL because the domestic championship had not been determined. But also, after they won the league, they had little recovery time between the competitions. On the contrary, Namuwongo have had two months without any competition to prepare for this initial phase of the road to BAL. That is a good opportunity for them to begin this campaign with freshness and less body fatigue; everything a team needs to thrive this time. Obviously, that was not the case in 2025, as some players went into the Road to BAL clearly walking wounded. Tony Drileba was one clear example, and seeing how instrumental he was then and now, he is the one major set-back Namuwongo experienced. Notably, only the City Oilers have gone past the round of 16 and played at BAL. Some of Oilers’ main cast at the time were Jimmy Enabu, Drileba and James Okello. They are expected to provide much experience for Namuwongo, as a major foundation upon which the rest of the cast will be shaped. Not only is it their quality that is relied upon, but they should bring a calming effect to the team when push comes to shove. In a nutshell, Nyeko is fond of saying that they focus on taking one game at a time. He is not the kind that would underestimate any opponent, let alone jump the gun in the assumption that this week’s opponents are no match for Namuwongo. While it is essentially true that there are no easy opponents on the continent, for many Namuwongo fans, their worries can only reasonably begin in the round of 16, meaning that they expect their team to cruise in Hoima, where their only other game there, was when they were crowned NBL champions 2026. nsimbe.jv@gmail.comThe post Namuwongo Blazers are expected to cruise in Hoima appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.